Blog

Since its creation in 2011, D3.js has become the de facto standard for building complex data visualizations on the web. React is also quickly maturing as the library of choice for creating component-based user interfaces. Both React and D3 are two excellent tools designed with goals that sometimes collide. Both take control of user interface elements, and they do so in different ways. How can we make them work together while optimizing for their distinct advantages according to your current project?Articles on Smashing Magazine — For Web Designers And Developers

(This is a sponsored article.) With the big picture established — mapping user journeys and defining your design’s look and feel — my fifth article in this series of ten articles dives into the details of designing user interface components. UX, IA, UI: All of these abbreviations can be confusing. In reality, as designers, we’ll often be working across these different specialisms: designing the overall user experience (UX), organizing information logically as we consider information architecture (IA), and considering the granular design of the user interface (UI).Articles on Smashing Magazine — For Web Designers And Developers

As a veteran designer, developer and project manager on more sites than I can count, I’ve identified a common problem with many web projects: failure to plan. As the same issues come up repeatedly in my work, I’ve written this guide in order to help our clients, other designers, businesses and organizations plan and realize successful websites. Who This Guide Is For Written in relatively non-technical language, this guide provides a broad overview of the process of developing a website, from the initial needs assessment through site launch, maintenance and follow up.Articles on Smashing Magazine — For Web Designers And Developers

Here’s a little challenge for you. How would you design a responsive interface for a custom car configurator? The customer should be able to adjust colors, wheels, exterior details, interior details and perhaps accessories — on small and large screens. Doesn’t sound that difficult, does it? We have all seen such interfaces before. Essentially, they are just a combination of some navigation, iconography, buttons, accordions and a real-time 3D preview.Articles on Smashing Magazine — For Web Designers And Developers

A CFP, or Call For Proposals (sometimes also known as a Call For Papers), is a request for speakers to send their proposed talk ideas to a conference. The conference will review the proposals and decide who to ask to speak. Popular conferences can receive hundreds of proposals for a handful of speaking slots, therefore creating a great proposal is an important skill to learn as a speaker. To help encourage people to write and submit to CFPs, Global Diversity CFP Day aims to help underrepresented people submit proposals to speak at conferences.Articles on Smashing Magazine — For Web Designers And Developers

Every profession is a wide field where many people find their very own, custom niches. So are design and web development today. I started building my first website with framesets and HTML4.0, images and a super limited set of CSS, and — oh so fancy — GIFs and inline JavaScript (remember the onclick=”” attribute?) about one and a half decades ago. It took me four days to learn the initial, necessary skills for that.Articles on Smashing Magazine — For Web Designers And Developers

(This is a sponsored article.) Icons are everywhere. They have been around for a long time, and it’s difficult to imagine a world without icons or symbols today. Only designers will know how much effort and time is needed to not only make them helpful but also simple and expressive. What makes icons particularly special is perhaps the fact that their meaning can be understood without having to add any text or further details.Articles on Smashing Magazine — For Web Designers And Developers

The time of static user interfaces is long gone. Designing interactive prototypes is the best approach to expressing your ideas and explaining them to clients and stakeholders. Or, as Jerry Cao of UXPin puts it: “Nothing brings you closer to the functionality of the final product than prototyping. It is the prototype that brings to life the experience behind user experience.” Prototyping is an important part of the modern UX design process.Articles on Smashing Magazine — For Web Designers And Developers